From Training to Transformation: Preparing and Celebrating NYC’s Next Generation of Clean Energy Workers

March 2026

On March 17th and 18th, the Climate Jobs Institute (CJI) held an in-person training for Non-traditional Employment for Women (NEW) and Pathways to Apprenticeship (P2A) trainers. The overarching goal of the training was to build confidence and strengthen leadership skills, equipping participants to deliver CJI’s two-day pre-apprenticeship clean energy curriculum, the Next Generation Clean Energy Program, effectively. CJI plans to host additional training sessions in the near future with other Apprenticeship Readiness Collective (ARC) partners, further expanding the reach of this initiative.

Building on the momentum of this train-the-trainer program, CJI co-hosted a graduation ceremony with P2A on March 19th at the Cornell ILR NYC Conference Center in Midtown Manhattan. The event served as a natural continuation of the week’s efforts, highlighting how the newly trained instructors will directly support the next generation of clean energy workers. P2A, which operates full-time, five-week direct-entry pre-apprenticeship construction programs in New York City, focuses on recruiting and supporting justice-involved individuals, low-income residents, and public housing tenants.

The ceremony honored 49 graduates from three of P2A’s most recent cohorts, including two cohorts that participated in CJI’s newly developed two-day Next Generation Clean Energy Program. Graduates who completed the pilot course received a certificate of training completion in addition to their P2A graduation diploma, underscoring the program’s role in expanding career pathways within the clean energy sector. Friends, family members, and notable speakers and partners gathered to celebrate the graduates’ achievements.

P2A Executive Director Gyasi Hayden led the ceremony alongside program facilitators Afi Turner and Anthony Cooper. Guest speakers included Council Member Sandy Nurse; Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director of UPROSE; Kenny Minaya, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS); Esther Rosario, Executive Director of Climate Jobs NY; and Melissa Shetler, CJI’s Assistant Director of Labor Outreach and Workforce Equity.